KALAMAZOO, MI – It may be time to put away those rocking chairs and list the golf clubs on eBay. Whether driven by economic necessity or a desire to remain engaged, more people are punching clocks well past their 65th birthday. In 2012, one in nine men over age 75 was working, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and one in 20 women over 75 were employed. That was the highest number recorded since the government started keeping those statistics in 1981. "I do think that a lot of people who are approaching later in life these days...

Pupils as young as four are using scissors, chairs, bats and staple guns to attack teachers amid a rising tide of violent indiscipline in primary schools. Growing numbers of teachers are falling victim to serious assaults by young pupils who punch, stab, kick, bite and push. Cases detailed in incident logs include an attempted strangling with a scarf and an injury to a teacher who disarmed a pupil caught carrying a kitchen knife. Children also arm themselves with any classroom items at hand - including sharpened pencils, metal stools, large batteries, tennis rackets and computer keyboards. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2251974/Teachers-attacked-children-young-FOUR-Rising-tide-violence-Britains-primary-schools.html#ixzz2FuKBDSzK Follow...

Russia is enduring its harshest winter in over 70 years, with temperatures plunging as low as -50 degrees Celsius. Dozens of people have already died, and almost 150 have been hospitalized. The country has not witnessed such a long cold spell since 1938, meteorologists said, with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees lower than the seasonal norm all over Russia. Across the country, 45 people have died due to the cold, and 266 have been taken to hospitals. In total, 542 people were injured due to the freezing temperatures, RIA Novosti reported. The Moscow region saw temperatures of -17 to -18...

New Delhi: Hundreds of people, mainly the young, on Sunday continued their noisy protests against the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman, sparking off sporadic clashes with polices. Having barricaded all roads leading to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and nearby government offices, security forces sprayed water at a large crowd shouting slogans against the Delhi police and demanding death to the rapists. Eight Delhi Metro stations were shut today, but that seemed to have no impact on the crowds. There is genuine and justified anger and anguish at this ghastly incident, PM said today on Delhi gangrape. I appeal to all concerned...

CHICAGO (STMW) – A 21-year-old man already in jail for shooting two girls on the West Side earlier this week did so, according to authorities, because they were witnesses to his shooting of a motel clerk who would not let him and the girls check in. David Victory, a parolee who was denied bond on Wednesday after being charged with attempted murder for the shooting of two 17-year-old girls on the West Side, now faces an additional count of attempted murder, and gun charges, for shooting the motel clerk in Cicero. About 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, a clerk at the Karavan...

Police in riot gear flooded the field of a youth football game in Southern California to stop a brawl that involved dozens and possibly hundreds of adult spectators. Chino police told the San Bernardino Sun they received several calls saying a melee had broken out amid a crowd of hundreds of parents who were watching a Pop Warner playoff game at the city’s Ayala Park on Saturday. Sgt. Frank Mena said ..... one of the teams was from Alhambra, but did not know the hometown of the other. Chino is in San Bernardino County 35 meals east of Los Angeles.

Today being Christmas Eve Eve is the inspiration for today's feature. The beloved perennial Christmas classic about a man who sees what life would've been liked if he had never been born. Starring conservative Republican and WWII veteran James Stewart and directed by Republican, pro-American director Frank Capra. Possibly my favorite film of all time.

REXBURG, Idaho (AP) — About 100 workers have lost their jobs after an eastern Idaho call center in Rexburg closed. The Standard Journal reports that the Opinionology Market Research Call Center closed on Wednesday. Opinionology and Survey Sampling International merged last year...

Video at link. President Obama has a very serious ego problem, and when he goes off teleprompter, it sticks out like a sore thumb. His eulogy for Senator Inouye on Friday was grotesque in its focus on the speaker, not the dearly departed. Unsurprisingly, President George W. Bush delivered a graceful eulogy for Gerald R. Ford's funeral, a model from which his successor should, but will not, learn. As David Paulin points out: A great funeral eulogy and not a single mention of "I" or "me" by President Bush. He says "us" and "we" at two points, both only in...

Over the last 50 years dozens of pet dogs have leapt from the 50ft bridge for no apparent reason, usually on clear sunny days. Each of the dogs jumped from the same spot between two parapets on the right-hand side. In 2005 the problem was so bad that 5 dogs jumped to their deaths off the bridge within the space of 6 months. The SSPCA ( Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ) considers the matter a 'heartbreaking mystery'. Many theories have been proposed to explain these peculiar circumstances. Some people believe that the dogs have jumped...

MSNBC'S TOURE: We have to remember that the NRA does not really represent gun owners. They really represent gun and ammunition manufacturers. So, they’re not going to do anything tomorrow, or at any point, that would hurt their business, the billion dollar business that they represent.

PRINCE Harry has killed his first Taliban commander, The Sun can reveal. The 28-year-old gunship co-pilot was called on to unleash a missile strike to eliminate a senior terror leader. Harry has proved a massive hit with comrades in Helmand, Afghanistan, who have nicknamed him Big H. A defence insider said: "Big H is a legend. “We were on patrol and the Apache helicopters were called in. We heard this posh voice come over the radio and knew it was Big H. They were tracking a Taliban leader — he was commander level.

To the question "Can you use a check ordering from Pizza Hut online?" We have this answer: You can only used a credit card or a Pizza Hut gift card to purchase online, no checks accepted. And, driving up to their window in South Central Texas, the same sign is posted. No checks accepted as of January 1. Wonder how many other establishments are going to do the same? I thought the economy was recovering....

Pot farms wreaking havoc on Northern California environment • Burgeoning marijuana growing operations are sucking millions of gallons of water from coho salmon lifelines and taking other environmental tolls, scientists say. EUREKA, Calif. — State scientists, grappling with an explosion of marijuana growing on the North Coast, recently studied aerial imagery of a small tributary of the Eel River, spawning grounds for endangered coho salmon and other threatened fish. In the remote, 37-square-mile patch of forest, they counted 281 outdoor pot farms and 286 greenhouses, containing an estimated 20,000 plants — mostly fed by water diverted from creeks or a...

HOURS AFTER SUNSET, the cars pulled up, one after another, bringing dozens of teenagers from several nearby high schools to an end-of-summer party in August in a neighborhood here just off the main drag.

The House Ethics Committee cleared Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY) of wrongdoing in connection with his secret acceptance of a $40,000 payment from Edul Ahmad, an individual who subsequently pleaded guilty in a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme. While the Ethics in Government Act requires members of Congress to disclose payments received from private parties, Meeks argued that the $40,000 was a “loan” rather than a “gift” and, therefore, exempt from the reporting requirement. Unfortunately, Meeks was unable to document his claim as he says he “misplaced” the relevant papers. The Ethics Committee report found that “while Congressman Meeks’ excuse for his...

Santa Claus may see you when you’re sleeping, but only a privileged few can actually see Santa during his high-speed international flight on Christmas Eve. The job of escorting Santa while the rest of the world sleeps falls to the same people tasked with keeping North American skies safe the other 364 days of the year: the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD.) But it’s more than monitoring the jolly man's flight on radar: Santa also gets a fighter jet escort during his time in North American airspace. Videos released on NORAD’s website reveal two of the four Canadian fighter...

President George H.W. Bush, who has been in a Houston hospital with a lingering cough since November, needs to "build up his energy" before he can be released, doctors said Sunday. Methodist Hospital spokesman George Kovacik said in an emailed statement that doctors are still optimistic the 88-year-old Bush will make a full recovery, but are being "extra cautious" with his care. Bush is in stable condition, he said.

But the manipulation of the data did not stop there. Aside from the weighting changes the BLS instituted a system of “hedonic” adjustments. Hedonics adjusts the prices of goods for the increased pleasure the consumer derives from them. “That new washing machine you bought did not cost you 20% more than it would have cost you last year, because you got an offsetting 20% increase in the pleasure you derive from pushing its new electronic control buttons instead of turning that old noisy dial, according to the BLS. When gasoline rises 10 cents per gallon because of a federally mandated...

OTTAWA - Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says Santa Claus won't need proof of citizenship when he returns to the North Pole at some late hour after his Christmas Eve flight to deliver gifts around the world. "As a Canadian citizen living in Canada's North, he may re-enter the country freely at the end of his international trip," Kenney said.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA, Australia (CBSDC) – Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia have found another purpose for mistletoe – apart from helping potential suitors steal kisses around the holidays. Mistletoe could also be used to help the effectiveness of chemotherapy, or could even act as an alternative to chemotherapy for treatment of colon cancer, according to Newswise. The American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. noted on its official website that colorectal cancers are preventable – as many as 45 percent of occurrences could be curbed with dietary and habit modifications. Despite that fact, the news of a...

The case against an intern serving in the Newark, N.J., office of Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat from that state, who was arrested Dec. 6 reportedly for being both an illegal immigrant and a sex offender, apparently has gone underground. The Associated Press reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 18-year-old Luis Abraham Sanchez Zavaleta outside of his Newark home. However, there seems to be no record of the arrest, the progress of Sanchez’s case, or that he is even still in custody.

“I don’t think legitimate sportsmen are going to say, ‘I need an assault weapon to go hunting,’” Cuomo said, according to the New York Times. “There is a balance here — I understand the rights of gun owners; I understand the rights of hunters.” Cuomo indicated the state will likely force some kind of permit process on owners of semi-automatic “assault weapons.” In addition to generating revenue and expanding the size and reach of government, the effort will allow the state to confiscate the weapons of citizens who do not comply. “Confiscation could be an option. Mandatory sale to the...

Customs suspected passenger’s bulging clothes inside bagEgyptian authorities arrested a man who was about to board a flight from Cairo to Saudi Arabia with 96 snakes he planned to sell in the Gulf Kingdom. Customs men in Cairo suspected the passenger’s bulging clothes inside his bag as he headed for the aircraft, newspapers in Egypt and Saudi Arabia said. When they searched the bag again, they found 96 snakes with a length ranging between 30 and 90 cm each. The man said he had concealed the snakes to take them to Saudi Arabia to sell them for a large sum...

<p>AN ARGENTINE judge has blocked planned nuptials between a 22-year-old woman and her twin sister's convicted killer. Edith Casas insists Victor Cingolani did not murder her sister Johana Casas, a fashion model. He is serving a 13-year prison sentence in southern Santa Cruz province for her murder in 2010.</p>

If the wireless Internet connection during your holiday flight seems more reliable than it used to, you could have the humble potato to thank. While major airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi on many flights, the signal strength can be spotty. Airlines and aircraft makers have been striving to improve this with the growing use of wireless devices and the number of people who don't want to be disconnected, even 35,000 feet up. Engineers at Chicago-based Boeing Co. used sacks of potatoes as stand-ins for passengers as they worked to eliminate weak spots in in-flight wireless signals. They needed full planes to...

At approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes into the broadcast, Michael’s lovely wife Judith attempts to read from Michael’s Chronological Gospels as Michael continuously interrupts to explain. It all makes for both an entertaining and enlightening broadcast for those interested in learning everything they can about the roots of Christianity.

From the standpoint of one familiar with our constitutional history, the spectacle of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives making pre-emptive tax concessions to the President is unnerving. Over a period of centuries, the lower house of the English Parliament, the House of Commons, fought for and won the “power of the purse”—that is, the right to initiate, as well as approve, all revenue measures. Based on English success, we adopted the same system. Until now, apparently. Fundamental to the rights of Englishman was (and is) the right not to be taxed without consent. That required approval by...

Advocates of overturning the right to keep and bear arms have spent years DELIBERATELY turning innocents into victims of slaughter for the purpose of disarming the American people. “Do as I say, not as I do,” gun-control zealots are predictably out in force after the Sandy Hook killings. For in the perverted mind of confiscation supporters like Michael Bloomberg and Barack Obama, the murder of 20 kindergarten students represents a longed-awaited opportunity to embarrass weak-kneed defenders of the 2nd Amendment into relenting to a nationwide assault against the foremost liberty of the American people. On December 19th, New York Mayor...

It is meant to be the season to be jolly - but Britain's towns and cities descended into chaos last night as binge-drinkers ditched festive spirit for mindless violence. On the day colloquially known as 'black eye Friday', police officers packed town centres on one of their busiest nights of the year. The last Friday before Christmas is traditionally a rowdy night due to the huge number of office parties taking place, the end of the academic term and workers being given Christmas bonuses.

Eliminate armed guards for the President, Vice-President, and their families, and establish Gun Free Zones around them Gun Free Zones are supposed to protect our children, and some politicians wish to strip us of our right to keep and bear arms. Those same politicians and their families are currently under the protection of armed Secret Service agents. If Gun Free Zones are sufficient protection for our children, then Gun Free Zones should be good enough for politicians. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/eliminate-armed-guards-president-vice-president-and-their-families-and-establish-gun-free-zones/6RDGkxLK

As we rapidly approach Christmas and the Holiday Season, it will be interesting to see what happens to checking account and credit card balances after it is over. It is interesting to note the surge in demand deposits at commercial banks since the end of 2008. A similar measure, Total Checkable Deposits (TCDSL), has also surged. Between anemic GDP growth and the rapid growth in bank deposits (at incredibly low deposit rates), it is no wonder that M2 Money Velocity is dead. Of course, the crash of the housing market and the loss of consumer confidence in the economy may...

Her silence is deafening. Twenty-five years after the spotlight first glared on Tawana Brawley — a black woman who as a teen claimed she was raped by a gang of white men, smeared with feces and stuffed in a garbage bag — she’s desperately struggling to stay hidden from public view. “I don’t want to talk to anyone about that,” Brawley, 40, said recently after The Post found her in Hopewell, Va., where she lives in a neatly kept brick apartment complex with signs warning of video surveillance cameras. By all appearances, her life — so chaotic a quarter-century ago...

<p>Human skulls deliberately warped into strange, alien-like shapes have been unearthed in a 1,000-year-old cemetery in Mexico, researchers say.</p>
<p>The practice of deforming skulls of children as they grew was common in Central America, and these findings suggest the tradition spread farther north than had been thought, scientists added.</p>

The Fed was in over its head. It didn't know enough to do what it (and many others) thought it could do. Today's problem is similar. Although the Fed has learned much since the 1970s, including the importance of low inflation, its economic understanding and powers are still limited. It can't predictably hit a given mix of unemployment and inflation. Striving to do so risks dangerous side effects, including a future financial crisis. For proof of the Fed's limits, look to the Fed itself. Since the 2008-09 financial crisis, which the Fed didn't anticipate or prevent, it has repeatedly miscalculated....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —Sacramento police are investigating a home invasion robbery on Haven Court that left one intruder dead and three others injured on Saturday. Police have arrested Thomas Ordonaz, 21. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and, accessory after the fact. The incident happened at 3:30 a.m. in the Pocket neighborhood. Investigators said during the course of the robbery, gunfire was exchanged and total of four people were shot.

(Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled on Friday against an attempt by the California Public Employees Retirement System to bypass the bankruptcy court and collect overdue pension payments from the bankrupt city of San Bernardino. The decision, while only one step in a highly complex legal proceeding, was a blow to Calpers' argument that pension payments and California law should take precedence in a bankruptcy.

What has happened to my country? I am old. I am 77. I pay to live in a gated community because I am scared. “Bravo Roberto” near my home serves from a cooked-from-scratch, delicious menu, items not bought from a food service truck, not served up by a chain restaurant that loads Americans up on heavy doses of salt to achieve its number one rating. In these tragic times, food, friends, family, God, prayer and Christmas are about all we have left. And “Bravo Roberto” serves up every day in Florida’s St. Lucie West a product we have allowed ourselves...

Oscar-winning Cambridge native Ben Affleck -- who played a congressman in the 2009 political thriller “State of Play” -- isn't ruling out a real-life run for office in the pending Massachusetts race to fill Sen. John Kerry's seat but downplayed the idea in an interview aired today. In a segment airing today on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” a coy Affleck, 40, tells host Bob Schieffer with a nervous laugh, “Well, for one thing, the state of Massachusetts currently has two extraordinary senators, so there is no vacancy,” when pressed by Schieffer on whether he’ll run for fellow Democrat Kerry’s...

CNN's Don Lemon discusses the possibility of profiling white men in an attempt to prevent gun violence and decrease the amount of mass shootings. Lemon argues that white males between the ages of 18 and 25 were behind nearly all recent mass killings. On the panel: David Sirota, radio talk show host; Richard Moran, criminologist; Lou Palumbo, retired police detective and private security provider; and Tom Deets, gun store owner. Video at link

National Review posted this yesterday and this is perhaps why Piers Morgan gets all interrupty when someone tries to explain how bad violent crime is in Great Britain: According to the Mail, Britons suffer 1,158,957 violent crimes per year, which works out at 2,034 per 100,000 residents. By contrast the number in notoriously violent South Africa is 1,609 per 100,000. The U.S., meanwhile, has a rate of 466 crimes per 100,000 residents, which is lower than France’s, at 504; Finland’s, at 738; Sweden’s, at 1123; and Canada’s at 935. As a result of both the different ways in which these...

Families, Average Income $70,662: $4,138 tax increase. Baby Boomers, Average Income $95,099: $4,223 tax increase Low Income Workers, Average Income $24,757: $1,207 tax increase Millennials, Average Income $23,917: $1,099 tax increase Retirees, Average Income $42,553: $857 tax increase Note that these income figures are Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Number of filers and AGI are estimates for 2013. Take a look at the full details here. Interestingly enough, liberals say this is a bad thing, but for them it would simply be returning to the Clinton Era Tax rates, right? Aren’t they the ones who have been saying those were the...

LOS GATOS -- Carrying signs demanding "No Guns in Los Gatos" and "Protect Our Children," about 30 people picketed a new Los Gatos sporting goods store that sells firearms Saturday, the day it was supposed to open. Former Los Gatos Mayor Sandy Decker said it appeared that Templar Sports opened briefly, but then closed in the face of the protest. No one answered the phone at the new store on University Avenue, which also offers fishing equipment. The protest took place eight days after the massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. Twenty children and seven adults died. "The...

Egypt's new Sharia-based constitution has been approved in a second round of voting, the ruling Muslim Brotherhood party said. The country's opposition leveled accusations of fraud, saying it will appeal the referendum results. The new charter was approved by 64 percent of Egyptian voters in a “resounding victory,” state news agency al-Ahram reported on Sunday. The preliminary tallies were calculated from reports by polling station officials. Egypt's election committee will confirm the final results on Monday. Egypt's main opposition party the National Salvation Front (NSF) announced Sunday it will appeal the results of the referendum. NSF members alleged there were...